


A Strawberry and a Firework

by ScryProcion



Series: A Strawberry and a Firework and their adventures [1]
Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Caps is a disaster, Cute Kids, De-Aged, Fluff, I do not want to spoil anything, M/M, Multi, Nemesis is shy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rekkles can help, Selfmade is not, Teacher!Broxah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:09:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScryProcion/pseuds/ScryProcion
Summary: My fabulous beta-editor Jungah prompts me with Broxah, working as a kindergarten's teacher, and a shy Tim who only want him as his teacher. Then, she adds that Selfmade could be there. That's pretty much it.Oh, I've forgot to mention: I added every charather I could think about, it writes itself. So now it is a fluffy mess with everyone involved.
Relationships: Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez/Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martinez/Lauri "Cyanide" Happonen, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson/Rasmus "Caps" Winther, Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek/Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek, Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov/Gabriël "Bwipo" Rauh
Series: A Strawberry and a Firework and their adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994008
Comments: 20
Kudos: 49





	A Strawberry and a Firework

**Author's Note:**

> It is my first fic in this fandom, and the first fic that I wrote in english. Don't judge me, I am a disaster.  
> Jungah helps a lot, this is for you darling! Thank you for take it out from me!  
> The purpose of this whole thing is to cuddle everyone who needs it. I hope to give you some cute moments while reading, let me know in comments if you want, I will be pleased!  
> Oh, and don't judge me for being a Rekkles' simp too.
> 
> Also, a big thank you to everyone on The Dream Server! You make it possible guys!  
> Oh, if someone wants to join please don't be afraid to ask!

“Mads please come and help!”

Mads has just entered his kindergarten’s hall and, the first time of many times today, he frowns.

He loves his colleague Laure, but he hadn’t enough time to grab a coffee this morning and he’s not in the best of his shape, and also, he has _just_ entered the building. What on earth happened to give her that tone?

The kids are not supposed to be here yet anyway.

Unless…

He speeds up, reaching the classroom where he had heard Laure’s voice.

He sighs at the view of both Laure and Eefje down on their knees, trying to reach a kid under a table. The child is cowering against the wall, just out of their reach.

“Who is this little new one?” he tries, while sitting down on the floor.

“His name is Tim. But this morning his dad couldn’t stay to settle him in. He had to hurry up because he is a single father and a fireman with a very busy schedule, so… Once he left, we lost this cutie in about two seconds.” Laure explains, at the same time shameful and amused.

Mads wonders what happened to make her smile like that.

“A very hot fireman if I can…”

“EEFJE!” Laure stops her, facepalming.

“Sorry, but did you see him?” Eefje retorts, grinning.

“Yes, but we are _teachers_ … You can’t say that in front of a five years old kid!”

“But he is hot because he is on fire! Because he is a _fireman_ …” Eefje grins hopefully, and Laure rolls her eyes. Meanwhile, Mads tries to catch a glimpse of the kid, but the majority of him is hidden under a fluffy black and orange blanket.

“Oh, we tried everything! We can’t reach him, and he is too scared for us to reach him forcefully… but he won’t listen to us.” Laure now looks near to tears. Mads understands why Eefje had tried to cheer her up by joking. Clearly, the amusement has come to an end.

“Ok, let me try. Could I have a little space, please?” the two women get up and step back a little, but peer around him worriedly.

Mads has to lie on his stomach to see the little boy. As soon as he managed to do so, his heart melts. The little boy is the cutest he has ever seen, which is saying something considering that he teaches at a kindergarten! Tim is so cute, wrapped up in his blanket, only his grey stunning eyes visible, that he can’t help but smile widely.

“Hi you! You are a very good hide-and-seek player, aren’t you?” the little boy hugs himself even tighter, pressing himself back against the wall. Mads’ heart aches.

“No, it’s ok. I’m not trying to hurt you.” he somehow manages to raise one of his hand, trying to explain himself “I just want to make sure that you are comfortable!” Tim stares at him, seeming not convinced at all.

“Are you ok sweetie? Are you cold? Does your back hurt?” Mads makes his voice deeper and gentler, because he knows scared kids tend to respond to it better. Tim stares at him, doing absolutely nothing. He is not crying, thank God, but he seems very overwhelmed in any case.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Tim doesn’t answer “Well, that makes me sad -” still no answers or movement “- because now I can’t play with you” Mads frowns. The little boy opens his eyes wide.

“Yeah, it makes me very sad that you don’t speak to me… I am sure you have the cutest voice possible!” Mads smiles, trying his best to use his most calming voice. Tim blushes. Mads chuckles in response.

“Do you wanna try and tell me what’s wrong?” Mads attempts, making his puppy face.

First rule of teaching kindergarten: you have to act like kindergarten kid.

Tim shakes his head, frightened. Mads pouts. The little boy seems very worried, and Mads starts to worry too. He can’t give up; his colleagues are watching him anxiously, and he could feel their concern. But, above all, he can feel Tim’s fear, and he can’t allow a kid to feel that way. He smiles back at the little one, switching tactics.

“You don’t like to talk, do you?” surprisingly, Tim nods. Mads gives him his best smile, as a price for his effort.

“Well… Can I tell you a secret?” the kid seems torn, but a few moments later he nods again, apparently too curious to say no.

“…I actually don’t like talking either.” Mads whispers conspiratorially, pretending to check around him for listeners. Tim opens his eyes even wider. Their beautiful grey shines in the dark under the table. Mads can’t help chuckling quietly.

“Yeah, it is true! But you can’t tell anyone!” he stares at the kid solemnly “Can you promise?” Tim nods eagerly. Mads chuckles again, and he notice Tim blushing. He has to work hard to keep from squealing or reaching out to pinch his cheeks. The kid is just too cute.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of! Not speaking is just another way of communicating. But you know… Many people do not know that! And I think it’s a shame” Tim is enchanted by his words, so he makes his speaking as low as he can to help calm him down “…because they are missing out, don’t you think? And, well, sometimes it’s better to be quiet. In those instances we are the best, aren’t we?” Tim Tim loosens his death grip on the blanket, staring at him with expectation.

“So… Now that we have something in common, do you think it would be ok if I joined you? It seems pretty cool inside here!”

Tim looks in his eyes for what it seems be ages. But then, suddenly… He _nods again and scoots to the side to make space_. Mads shoots him a grin, causing the little boy to finally smile back. The girls behind him sigh in relief, and Mads feels a rush of pride for being able to bring out that adorable smile.

He struggles a little bit trying to maneuver his large frame under the small table, but it was worth it in the end. When he looks up Tim is still staring at him in expectation, and Mads has to go through a mental checklist of what he might want. Finally the little boy’s big silver eyes prompt an answer out of him.

“Do you want me to talk while we are waiting for you to be ready for come out?” Tim nods, smiling. Mads smiles back.

“Well… as I told you before, I am not good at this either, but I can tell you a story, maybe?” At that Tim shyly climbs into his lap and gazes up at him expectantly. Mads’ heart is about to explode.

“You are too cute for this world, you know that? Well, you can settle down, because you were the first one, and other kids will not be here for…” he checks his clock “…an hour! We have so much time to spend together!” Tim leans into his chest and looks so much more calm that Mads forget about his uncomfortable position, his impending backache, his colleagues, and his duties. And, well…

He spends an hour telling stories. It turns out that Tim’s favourite story was the one with a Golden Angel in it, and he continued to silently ask for more by nodding at Mads’ questions.

After the third different version of the Golden Angel, Tim was much more relaxed than before At some point he had tangled his little fingers in Mads’ shirt, but Mads found it to cute to point out for fear that he would let go.

At a word from Laure, he looks up and notices the time, cursing internally. He looks down at Tim with a smile and pats his back. “Hey, it’s time to go. The other kids will be here soon.”

Tim’s eyes instantly fills with tears and his fists clench harder into Mads’ shirt. Mads clicks his tongue and rubs circles into his back.

“No, no sweetie! I have good news too!” Tim looks at him, blinking tears out of his eyes. “…you can come with me, if you want!” Tim tightens his grip and gazes at him imploringly. Mads tilts his head before realizing what he wants.

“Oh, and you can be in my arms as long as you want” Tim relaxes his death grip on his shirt and looks relieved.

“So… shall we go?” Tim sighs, but he nods. Mads gives him a wide smile and carefully moves them both out of their hiding spot.

When he stands, Tim balanced on his hip, he is greeted with the sight of Laure and Eefje watching them, huddled together.

“You watched the whole time?” he wonders, blushing slightly. They nod, jumping in at the same time.

“Your voice…”

“You are _so_ good…”

“We wanted to do some work, but it was too relaxing for us to not listen!”

“Yes! It is not fair, how are you so good at it?”

Mad shakes his head, amused. They now are a little behind schedule… But then, Tim chuckles at the seeing of the two girls with guilty faces, hiding his face in Mad’s neck when the girls smile back at him, and Mads thinks it was worth it.

***

Mads has just started to welcome kids in the hall when the first problem of the whole “Tim-is-my-new-personal-koala” shows up.

He has always liked to think of himself as a pretty physical person, and he hits the gym at least three times a week. And Tim is a very little guy; even as 5 years old, he is very tiny. But still, it’s exhausting to do all his work while shifting Tim between both arms. He sighs, torn by the entire situation. It is not the first time that a kid had problems in trusting the teachers or making new friends, but Tim does not even seems interested in anyone else. Mads knows that, eventually, every kid will find their own way to adjust.

But Tim, again, seems so different than the others. He is not fragile, no. He is… _selective_. And even though a casual observer would think that he just looks a little shy, Mads knows that this little kid will be a challenge to deal with.

Normally, when he manages a kid to trust him, the little one will trust other teachers and kids too, reassured by the fact that a safe space for him or her has been established. But Tim, after nearly two hours, does not do that, and that makes Mads worried.

And that is the second problem.

“Tim, sweetie… Do you wanna try playing with Laure in art class?” Tim opens his eyes wide, refusing the offer with a sharp shake of his little head that makes his fluffy hair fall over his eyes, and he huffs a breath to blow it out of his face. Mads chuckles, amused.

“Are you sure? She is as good as me, you know?” Tim stares at him angrily. Mads smiles, understanding that the little boy thinks he is the best, but still a little worried.

“WE ARE HERE FOOLS!” a curly-haired, chubby, and yet adorable kid storms in the hall, dragging with him another kid, skinnier and sloppier.

“Gabriel, my little star, there is no need to shout like that!” two men follows their kids. The one who has spoken is dark blonde and shy, the other one has black hair and eyes. The latter is probably even more excited of his son, lightly bouncing on his feet near his husband. The blonde one glares at him fondly, looking as if he is resigned to caring for three kids instead of two.

Mads cannot help but smile; they are his favourite family, after all.

“Gabriel! Zdravets! Welcome kids! How are you doing?” he asks, rubbing Tim’s back to reassure him in the face of Gabriel’s overwhelming attitude.

“Hi Mads!” Gabriel runs for reaching him “Oh, a new boy! Hi friend!” Tim hides his face in Mads’ shoulder.

“Oh! You are shy like my brother! That’s is ok!” Gabriel nods vigorously.

“I am not shy! You just keep talking over me! How can I speak if you never stop?” Zdravets retorts, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, whatever! You are saying it only because you have heard Papi say it to Daddy!” Mads burst into laughter, delighted by the expression on the blonde adult man in front of him.

“Of course he has!” the taller and darker man teases “You’ve definitely said that before!” he provokes his husband.

“Let it go, Enrique!” The other adult blushes.

“Gabriel, honey, you really are my favourite! You are such a good mini-version of me!” Enrique continues, ignoring his husband. Gabriel giggles at the cheek-pinching his dad gives him.

“Daddy! They are doing it _again_.” Zdravets sighes, turning at the blonde father.

“Yes, sweetie, it’s ok. They are just fooling around!” the adult confirms, chuckling “And stop picking favourites here, Enrique! Come on! Can you at least try to be a normal parent?”

“As you do not do the same, Lauri! We know that little Zdrav here is your favourite!” he rolls his eyes at the ceiling “But, we are the best father-son duo, aren’t we, Gabri?” Gabriel nods solemnly, causing Mads to smile. At the very beginning of his friendship with the family, he had wondered if this way of acting was health for the two kids. But then he had just realized that they are perfect just the way they are, and while a bit atypical the family is perfectly happy in their own way.

_The little Tim, by the other hand, was watching the scene torn between curiosity and shyness._

Lauri crouches down to little Zdravets, hugging him from behind “Let them speak, sweet cheeks, they are just born that way, you know?”

“Yeah, I know it dad! We have to take care of them, because they can’t help themselves! We are the mature ones!” Zdravets nods eagerly, hugging his father back.

“Exactly! They are the cocky ones, we have to stand by their side for prevent them from failing!” Lauri bumps his head gently against his kid’s, and then he raises an eyebrow at his husband winningly. Enrique sticks his tongue out at him, in perfect synchrony with Gabriel, who has done the same at Zdravets.

Mads scoffs his head. That family, really…

“Anyway, time to go!” Lauri stands up, brushing Zdravets’s hair. The two little kids immediately stick to each other.

“Ok, Papi!” Zdravets says, hugging Gabriel “I will keep an eye on him, I promise this time he won’t be in trouble!” Mads knows from experience how unlikely this is due to the fact that the two kids have a very mischievous nature, always searching for little problems to cause. Even if Zdravets is probably more careful in going on questionable situations, he can’t refuse a call from his brother. Lauri knows it too, and he nods, resigned. The two kids wave and take off in Eefje’s direction, still holding hands.

“Can I go with them?” Enrique wonders, looking a Eefje. Lauri flushes red, obviously jealous.

“No. We have work to do, you know?” he crosses his hands at his chest. Enrique smirks.

“Awn, my husband is still jealous of me after all these years?” Lauri turns his head still blushing furiously.

“Am I lucky or what?” Enrique wonders to Mads, and then reaches his husband for a very passionate kiss, that causes Tim to hide his eyes under his hands “You are the only one. Period.” Lauri can’t stay mad at his husband after that declaration of love and sighs, pacified.

“You two are really couple goals!” Mads comments, scoffing Tim hair.

“Yeah well, of course we are! Look at us! And do not mention our perfect kids!” Enrique points out.

“What modesty from you, honey…” Lauri kisses his partner’s cheek.

“But look at them!” the other man replies, gesturing to his two sons. Lauri and Mads follow his lead, and the cutest scene is playing in front of them: Zdravets is kissing his brother’s nose, after coaxing him to pick up a box of crayons. Gabriel is a disaster in art, but Zdravets Zdravets is solemnly promising to help him the best he can, and Gabriel can’t help but smile.

After that, the two kids are reached by Pete, their best friend in kindergarten, and the three of them leave to the classroom.

“You know…” Enrique adds, amused “Maybe they will end like us! Happily ever after!” Lauri facepalms.

“I don’t know even if that is legal!” he groans.

“Well, they are not blood-relatives! Not for real… Why are you pulling me to the door? I wanna stay and stare at them all day!” Lauri says goodbye Mads, who is laughing at the exchange between them, and the two leave.

Mads sighs. One day, he’ll find someone who can be like that with him. He quickly checks in on Tim, who seems a little calmer now.

“MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADS” a cute blonde head has just sneak in his legs. He looks down, catching sight of a little blond head.

“Hi, Marcin…” he startes, worried by how much an energetic kid like Marcin could scare Tim. He starts to search for his only male colleague with his eyes, who is also Marcin’s favourite _._ He should has arrived by now…

“WHY are you NOT playing with US?” the kid wonders, grabbing his free hand and staring at him with puppy eyes.

“Honey… I have to welcome the other kids!” he tries to explain, concerned by the direction of the conversation.

“But… I MISS you!” Mads closes his eyes, resigning himself to inevitable soreness tomorrow.

“Do you…” he licks his lips, uncertain “…want to jump up too?”.

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, two little heads start moving: Tim’s shaking side to side, Marcin’s nodding. Mads looks at Tim, hugging him tighter to try and show him he cares about his opinion.

“Tim… I really don’t mind only hanging out with you, but the other kids need me too.” Tim eyes starts to fill with tears.

“No, honey, don’t cry…” he hears a sob from Marcin, who of course now thinks Mads doesn’t want him.

Third problem: jealousy.

Mads holds Tim with one arm and manages to crouch awkwardly to hug Marcin with his other one, worried about his situation. The two girls are are otherwise occupied and not in the vicinity, and he is in trouble. _Where the hell is Martin_ – Wunder, he corrects himself - _when I need him?_

“Marcin…” he tries, desperate. In that exact moment, as if summoned by Marcin’s sadness, two kids entered the door, followed by a skinny man, who Mads happily recognise as Alfonso.

“MIHAEL! LUKA!” Marcin screams, causing Tim to sniff, annoyed by the loud voice. He seems to have forgotten his tears right away.

“MARCIN!” the other two shout back, running for hug him. The three of them start a ring-around-the-rosey, giggiling and shouting together.

Crisis averted. Mads sighs in relief.

Luckily for Mads, the three of them are _inseparable_. They cannot stay apart for too long; their friendship is a rarity to see at their age. Of course, the fact that Mihael and Luka were adopted by the same guy, a single and very loving father, making him legally brothers helps. But even if not legally, Marcin is definitely the third brother.

“NOW we can PLAY Princess and KNIGHTS!” Marcin proposes.

“Mihael can be the Princess!” Luka agrees, hugging his little brother.

“Oh no, not _again_ …” Mihael complains, but he is smirking while saying it, so Mads knows that he is more than happy to be the Princess. While pulling the poor Mihael into the play room, Luka and Marcin continue to plead him to do the Princess, causing him to refuse gleefully, delighted by all the attentions.

Alfonso approaches him, still enchanted by the three kids.

“You know” Mads starts saying, moving Tim from one arm to the other, “I can’t wait for them to be _actually_ brothers. All of them” he clarifies. Alfonso rolls his eyes, amused.

“I waited them to run off to tell you…” he clears at his throat “…I have decided to, well… get down on my knees? For Jesper?” he blushes and sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed but mostly proud.

Mads almost lets out a decidedly unmanly shriek “Finally!” he is so happy that he hugs his friend, forgetting about the little Tim, who squeaks in protest, annoyed by the contact with the other man.

“Well… he hasn’t said yes just yet, right?” Alfonso wonders. Mads raises an eyebrow. There’s literally no ways Jesper would refuse the proposal.

“Oh, come on! Marcin will be so glad to be their brother! He always says it to me!” he reveals, knowing that Jesper’s son, by their marriage, would be legally bonded with the other two kids.

Alfonso holds his breath “Really?”

“Yes, I swear! Look at them!”

“Oh, the three of them will drive us crazy, won’t they?” Alfonso has started to exit the building, frowning at the thought of having three kids like them all together, all the time. Mads laughs hard, knowing that it will be challenging for the two of them. He goodbyes to his friend and turns back to the room.

“What are you three up to now?” Mads turns in the direction of the voice. His colleague Martin has just arrived. Mads hides a smile, realising that the three little inseparable guys have abandoned the idea of playing Princess and Knights for their first prank of the day, their favourite target in the viewfinder already. “Guys it is to early for this, don’t look at me with that angel’s facies! I know you’re up to something!”

“Maaaaaaaartin, you know we love you!” Mihael starts, a smirk on his little face.

“Yes! Don’t be afraid, we wanna just share with you our love for you!” Luka adds.

“YES! We LOVE you! So BADLY!” Marcin finishes.

“If you say so…” Martin says, suspiciously, approaching them as they have started to pout at him with puppy facies, clearly asking for cuddles. In Mads’ opinion, that was a terrible mistake, and a naïve one, to be fair.

As the teacher steps inside the range of the three kids, Luka shouts: “NOW!”

Apparently, three tubes of paint have been stolen from Laure. In no time at all, using their tubes as guns and shooting jets of colour, the three kids manage to make the poor Martin’s chest artwork.

Mads burst out laughing, followed by Tim’s giggling, the sound of which warms his heart.

“YOU THREE! I KNEW IT!” Martin gets mad, waving his arms at the kids, who are now rolling on the floor, overwhelmed by laughter. “I swear to god, it is the last time I get pranked by you three!”

“Awn but why?” Mihael asks, smirking.

“Yeah, you know you are even more beautiful now!” Luka rubs tears of mirth from his eyes.

“I agree! We added _pretty_ _colours_ in your outfit!” Marcin teases “It suits you!”

“Now I'll show you!” Martin can’t hide his smile for long. He cannot stay mad at his favourite kids for too long. “Let’s see if these colours suits you too, shall we?” and with that, he starts chasing the three kids around, making them even excited.

“And that is the punishment for being late!” Mads concludes, and Tim nods in agreement, causing him to chuckle.

“You know…” he wonders, looking at Tim “…we really need to find you another thing to do, or you will get me fired!” Tim seems untouched by the sentence, ignoring him in favour of staring out at the other kids. Mads frowns, amused by the lack of emotions shown. He ruffles Tim’s hair in revenge. The other one seems betrayal and delighted at the same time in response.

He has just begun to walk in the direction of his class when the main door opens again.

“I am the worst dad EVER!” A man enters the hall, flustered and holding a kid in his arms.

“Papa, you are NOT!” the kid counters, rolling his eyes. “You were just busy saving lives! That’s why we are late!” The man stares at his kid stunned. Then, he hugs the little one so thigh that Mads worries for the kid’s ribcage.

“You are the best son I could ever want, aren’t you?” The man kisses the kid’s forehead, making him laugh and squirm away.

Mads smiles at the view, then he clears his throat: “Hi there! You are not late, by the way! We understand parent’s needs!”.

“Oh, thank you!” The adult smiles back “We are new to this town! I… may have gotten lost!”

“He is just bad in finding the way! I have to tell him where to go, and I am only five years old!” the kid explains, nodding.

“I take back what I have said before, you little traitor!” the man growls, tickling the kid in his arms. Mads chuckles: that little kid was certainly something.

“Anyway, good morning! My name is Rasmus.” He smiles at Mads “And this little boy is my son, Oskar!” The kid smiles too.

“Welcome! I am Mads, and this cutie is Tim! He is new too, Oskar!”

“Maybe we can be friend!” Oskar wriggles out from his father’s arms, nut not without kissing him on a cheek first. Mads tries to debate that attempt, but he isn’t allowed to.

“Oh, little one, I will miss you so badly!” Rasmus says, pretending to dry imaginary tears away. “Look at you! You have grown up so fast!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” The kid rolls his eyes, ignoring his poor father, who grins affectionately. “You can go know! I have a new friend!”

“You have replaced me this fast?” Rasmus sounds vaguely amused. He glances at Mads, who shrugs his shoulders. The other man frowns, smiling at his son’s attitude: “Ok, then! See you later!”

“By Papa! Hurry up, you’re late! And don’t worry! I have Tim now!” he seems so sure, that Mads heart aches at the thought of what Tim actually thinks about it. He looks at him, and surprisingly, he is calm and… curious? Tim hasn’t taken his eyes off of Oskar since he arrived.

“Traitor!” Rasmus leaves the building, laughing at himself.

“So…” Mads tries, after a while in which the two kids had not stopped staring at each other “Should we choose a new badge for you two?” He holds out a hand in Oskar’s direction, and the kid grabs it readily.

“What it is a badge?” Oskar wonders, finally moving his glare from Tim to Mads.

“It is a cute name tag that you have to wear to be recognise by other kids! It has a shape of your favourite thing in the whole world, and your name on it! Once you chose one, it is yours forever!” Mads explains, getting hyped by the topic. Badges were his idea.

“Look, this is mine!” he points at his chest, where a green leaf with his name written in orange is displayed.

“Wow! What shape can I choose? Why you choose a leaf?” Oskar asks eagerly.

“I love nature and walking in it! So, when someone forget my name, they can remember of that and recognise me from the leaf!” he smiles at the kid, who tilts his head “Oh, I see…”.

They have reached a locker, from which Mads takes out a box with the not-already-taken badges in it. Opening it without letting go of Tim is challenging, but he manages it in the end.

“These are the badges that you can choose between!” He says happily, sitting down on the floor with Tim on his lap. Oskar imitates him, stretching his neck to see inside the box.

“Can I…?” he asks, extending his hands to the box.

“Of course! And Tim, you may do it too!” he teases. But Tim is glaring at Oskar with admiration in his bright eyes. Mads can’t help but feel a little replaced. Tim has not looked at him since Oskar joined them.

“Found it!” Oskar shouts, raising up a fireworks shaped badge. “Papa always tell me that I am an explosion!” Mads doesn’t have to think too hard to see that one. He smiles at the kid.

“Are you sure? Once I put your name on it, you’ll keep it forever!” He remembers Marcin had almost gone for the same one, but then Luka had found three brooches shapes as a Princess, a Prince, and a Knight, so the firework was forgotten.

“Well…” Oskar doubts for a moment “How can I be sure?” He wonders. Mads opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted.

“Tim! What do you think? Does it suit me?” asks Oskar, while trying his badge on his chest. Then, he looks up at Tim with his wide blue eyes, obviously expression for an answer.

“Look, Oskar, Tim is very shy and -” but Tim stares at Oskar, tilts his head as he considers the question, and then after a while he nods. Mads mouth’s opens.

“Nice! Thank you, Tim!” Apparently not having a proper answer from Tim does not bother Oskar. Mads heart melts. What the hell are these two? He has seen so many kids bond quickly but this is on another level.

“Now we have to help you find yours!” Oskar continues “Let me search for the perfect one!” Oskar gives Mads his new orange badge and proceeds to messily rifle through all the available badges. Tim seems excited, and he continue to stare at Oskar.

“That one!” Oskar grabs a strawberry-shape brooch.

The other two stares at him with questioning looks.

“Well, strawberry is my favourite fruit, and Tim is my favourite friend, so I wonder that…” Oskar smile fades. “Oh! Maybe… you don’t like it?” Hi eyes are suspicious wet and Mads melts.

Tim does not answer, still processing what Oskar’s words mean.

“It is ok if you don’t.” Oskar voice sounds small “Well… I haven’t even asked you properly if you want to be my friend.” The little boy stares at the floor. “My papa always tells me that I have to make friends, but till now I don’t like nobody like I like you so I…” He sniffles “…I thought you had to be my friend, ‘cause I like you since when I saw you before, but it is ok if you don’t like me, I mean…” Oskar tries his best not to cry and Mads thinks about how hard moving is for little kids, and that maybe Tim was the first kid he has met after this huge change. It’ll be good for him to get this out of his system, so he lets him continue. Anyway, sometimes kids are simply smarter in recognising which people make them feel good.

“I… I…” Oskar swallows his tears and tries again “I am sorry for this! You really don’t have to be my friend if you don’t want to…”

“I like it”

Mads lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and smiles eagerly at both kids.

Oskar raises his head up “…what?” he asks, looking hopefully at Tim.

Tim blushes “I like your strawberry”.

Oskar’s eyes sparkle. He seems to recognize that speaking is a big thing for Tim.

“Can I hug you?” He asks, bouncing excitedly. Tim nods and smiles back, and then, on Mads’ laps, they hug.

Mads wasn’t tempted to squeal at all. Definitely not.

“Ok guys let me get the colours to write your names!” He says, after clearing his throat. These two, honestly…

He gently slides them off his lap, then pats Tim on his shoulder while standing up. Tim looks at him, worried.

“It’s ok, I’ll be back soon!”

“Are you afraid of being alone?” Oskar grabs Tim sleeves, and tugs on it to get his attentions. Tim nods, blushing. “Oh! But now you have me! I will never leave you alone!”

Tim eyes open wide “Never never?” he asks, shyly.

“Never never” Oskar hugs him, standing in his tiptoes for make his chin reach Tim’s head. Tim smiles radiantly.

And if Mads was a little bit jealous because he wanted Tim for himself only for a little bit longer, he can’t help but smile at the proof that everyone, apparently, has a soulmate, and it seems that Tim had just found his.

Oskar stays at Tim’s side for the whole morning, filling the silence makde by Tim’s missing words with his unending stream of speech. And Mads notices that Oskar’s exuberant personality seems to be rubbing off on Tim just a little bit. Sure, they mostly play only one with the other, but now if someone asks something to Tim, he does not try to hide under a table. Well… as a matter of fact, he hides behind Oskar, letting him speak for him (apparently, Oskar can read Tim’s mind perfectly). But it is an improvement.

And while Tim let himself be touched only by Mads and Oskar (much to Laure and Eefje’s dismay) and he does not speak another word for the rest of the day, the smile never leaves his face.

Actually, that was incorrect, because at Mads’ question ‘where do you wanna rest for the nap, Tim?’, he quickly answers with “Oskar”, for the disbelief of all the present (the girls hadn’t believed that Tim could speak until then). After that, Tim has plopped down next to his friend, hiding his face in Oskar’s neck for the whole duration of the nap.

After all, they needed one less bed, as Tim and his blanket rested at Oskar’s side.

***

“Hi!” An unfamiliar man in a fireman’s suit taps on Mads’ shoulder as he stands up from cleaning some spilled snacks on the floor. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting this morning. I’m-”

“PAPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII” If anyone had remained unconvinced of Tim’s ability to speak, this definitely proved them wrong.

“-Tim’s dad, Martin.” the awesome man finishes, while crouching down to let Tim runinto his arms. Mads catches himself checking him out, and now he understands Eejfe’s earlier comments about the hotness of Tim’s father.

“Hi sweetheart!” the blonde man hugs his son with so much love that Mads can’t help but smiles “I am so sorry for this morning! I would never leave you this way, but an emergency happened, and I had to run!” He cups Tim face with his hands, gently pressing their foreheads together. “Were you ok? You were scared, weren’t you? Papi is so sorry.” Martin stops and smiles behind Tim at another kid. “Hi, you! What’s your name?”

Mads, following the direction of Martin's gaze, notices that even in Tim's haste to reach his father he hadn't let go of Oskar's hand, which is still firmly clasped in his.

“Um… I am Oskar?” Oskar is staring at Martin, clearly impressed by the man in front of him.

“Well, hi Oskar!” Martin smiles wider, noticing the hold between the two kids’ hands.

“He found me this!” Tim explain, to the surprise of the other three. “It is a strawberry! And it is my badge because it is Oskar’s favourite fruit, and I am his favourite person! Right…?” Tim turns behind while asking at Oskar, all of a sudden doubtful. Oskar blushes, but he quickly nods.

“Aw, how cute is that?” Martin says, but glances at Mads to verify, clearly not sure about how all of that was possible. Mads shrugs, as if to say ‘I am not sure how it happened either’. Martin chuckles, shaking his head.

“I am so proud of you, Tim! You found a new friend on your first day!”

“No, dad, you’re wrong!” Oskar’s lips start to tremble. Oblivious, Tim adds: “He is my best friend!”

Oskar hugs Tim so forcefully that Martin has to steady them with his arm to keep them from falling over. The three of them are smiling so hard that Mads has to follow.

“Am I late?” A hurricane in the form of Rasmus tears into the room. Apparently, he was so focused on making it on time that he did not notice the fireman and two kids crouching on the ground, and barely avoids stepping on them.

Unfortunately, that also means he falls.

Luckily, a fireman has good reflex, or at least good enough to grab a falling doctor.

Also, a fireman apparently has enough strength to hold two hugged kids on one of his arms, and to prevent a doctor from falling.

“And hi to you, too!” Martin smirks, looking at Rasmus, still holding him in his grip to prevent him from falling. Their faces are centimeters away from touching.

“…Hi?” Rasmus manages to pull himself up after an initial bit of struggling, which includes grabbing Martin’s arms to stabilize himself.

“Oh, Papa, you are hopeless! You are lucky that Tim’s dad is so strong, or you would be in trouble!” Oskar facepalms.

“Hey! I was in hurry to see you, you know?” Rasmus says “…even if apparently you don’t need me and you prefer to cuddle others!” Rasmus stares at the ceiling, tapping his toe to the ground, clearly annoyed and jealous, but clearly just amused.

“Oh, come on! You’re still my favourite dad!” Now it was Tim’s turn to trail after his friend while he hugs his father, hands still linked. But, since Tim also has a death grip on the hem of Martin’s shirt, that causes the two adults to end up in a strange four-person hug.

“...Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen,” Rasmus says after a while, obviously embarrassed. Martin and Tim chuckle, while Oskar rolls his eyes.

“Ok, well… Shall we go?” Martin asks Tim. “You will see Oskar tomorrow, you know?” Tim hugs Oskar again, obviously not wanting to leave him.

“Hey, don’t do that…” Rasmus tries “He is very annoying after a while, you know? It is in your best interest to take a break from having him around!”

“Hey!” Oskar protests, while hugging Tim back. Martin and Rasmus can’t help but laugh at that.

Tim buries his head in Oskar’s shoulder. “Never never?”

“Never never” Oskar replies, biting his lips. Martin finally stands up, smiling at Rasmus again. Then, he holds Tim hand, ready to leave. Tim won’t let go of Oskar’s hand, looking torn.

“Honey…” Martin frowns, clearly heartbroken at the view.

“It is actually a shame that these cuties have to split, don’t you think?” Rasmus says, biting his lip in the same cute way of his son. Martin looks at him confused.

“Well… maybe… We can grab an ice-cream together? But, after that, we have to go straight home?” Rasmus suggests.

Suddenly, Martin is fixed with three puppy facies pleading with him silently. He couldn’t say no even if he wanted to. And, as a matter of fact, he didn’t.

“That is a very good idea!” he smiles, causing Rasmus to be stunned.

“Papa, please, help yourself: that is probably your best date so far, so don’t ruin it! He is too beautiful for you; you have to play your cards well!” Oskar frowns, causing a lot of things happen at the same time.

First, his father’s face become a very red colour.

Second, Martin bursts into laughter in such a genuine and amazing way that all the room has to stare at him, enchanted.

Third, Mads and his colleagues can’t help but chuckle too.

In the end, still stunned by Martin’s amused and pleased laugh, Rasmus manages to say: “…traitor! You can’t say things like that! I even don’t know if he is single yet!”

Martin stares straight into Rasmus eyes, making it clear that it was delighted by the guy’s attentions.

“Well, as a matter of fact, I am.”

Mads still remembers this workday as one of his favourite workdays ever.


End file.
